This Guide Makes Mastering HTML-to-PDF Generation a Weather

Many modern web programs now require a lot of the same features as creating invoices and creating complicated, data-driven reviews. Over the years, various&nbsp, HTML to PDF tools&nbsp, have emerged, each with its own strategy and skills. In this post, we’ll take a brief look at the evolution of PDF generation solutions — from&nbsp, wkhtmltopdf&nbsp, and&nbsp, PrinceXML&nbsp, (via&nbsp, DocRaptor ) to&nbsp, Puppeteer&nbsp, and&nbsp, Playwright&nbsp, — and then walk through a short tutorial on using Playwright ( Node. js ) to generate a sample PDF in 2025.

A Quick Story of the PDF creation tools

wkhtmltopdf

&nbsp, is a command-line tool that uses the&nbsp, WebKit rendering engine&nbsp, ( the foundation of early Safari ) to convert HTML and CSS into PDF. Previously, it was one of the most common open-source solutions for server-side File generation.

➡ ️ How it works:

• Provides a static HTML file ( with CSS) in a WebKit-based setting.
• Output a PDF file that carefully ( but not always perfectly ) matches the design seen in a WebKit website.
• combines readily via CLI into scripts or back-end solutions.

✅ Professionals:

Open-source&nbsp, and complimentary to use.
• Simple CLI usage&nbsp, makes it easy to incorporate with various back-end languages.
• a sophisticated job with a large user base.

❌ Disadvantages:

Minimal support&nbsp, for current JavaScript and CSS features like&nbsp, flexbox&nbsp, or&nbsp, network.
• contradictory behavior with more intricate designs or interactive components.
• You be&nbsp, slower&nbsp, and produce&nbsp, lower-quality rendering&nbsp, compared to legless Chrome.

DocRaptor ( PrinceXML)

&nbsp, is a&nbsp, cloud-based API&nbsp, that leverages the commercial&nbsp, PrinceXML&nbsp, rendering engine to change HTML ( and CSS) into high-quality PDF or Excel files. Besides having complicated paged press features, Prince XML is known for its advanced printing capabilities and complete CSS support.

➡ ️ How it works:

• You send your HTML/CSS ( and optionally JavaScript ) via an API call.
• The company uses PrinceXML under the hood to create a PDF that is perfectly formatted.
• You receive the ultimate File via the API response.

✅ Professionals:

High-fidelity rendering&nbsp, for intricate designs, including developed graphic and indexing features.
• Thorough&nbsp, CSS help, handling paged advertising, references, multi-column layouts, and more.
• Backed by a business solution with&nbsp, regular updates&nbsp, and devoted support.

❌ Disadvantages:

Very high licensing cost: PrinceXML ( and by extension DocRaptor ) can be prohibitively expensive for many smaller projects or startups.
• Not a full headless browser engine: Because PrinceXML isn’t based on Chromium/Firefox, it may struggle with dynamic JavaScript frameworks ( React, Vue, Angular ) that rely heavily on live browser rendering.

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Armless Chrome as a Game Changer

For a long time, generating PDFs that completely mirrored a modern computer’s making was difficult. Older vehicles like WebKit in wkhtmltopdf or professional options ( e. g., PrinceXML) often lagged behind the latest HTML/CSS/JS features found in Chrome. That changed drastically when Google introduced&nbsp, Legless Chrome, allowing developers to operate the computer without a noticeable UI.

Soon after, &nbsp, Puppeteer&nbsp, and then&nbsp, Playwright&nbsp, emerged as effective tools for automated Headless Chrome, enabling designers to create PDFs and screenshots with accuracy.

Puppeteer

&nbsp, is a&nbsp, Node. js library&nbsp, that provides an extensive API for automating tasks in headless ( or full ) Chrome/Chromium. Originally released by the Google Chrome staff, it quickly became popular for online cutting, screening, and HTML to PDF transformation.

➡ ️ How it works:

Puppeteer spins up a&nbsp, legless Chrome/Chromium&nbsp, occasion.
• lots an HTML wire or navigates to a specific web page.
• Waits for the content ( including JavaScript ) to render fully, then exports a PDF that matches Chrome’s final layout.

✅ Professionals:

Full support&nbsp, for modern&nbsp, HTML, CSS, and active JavaScript.
• Highly customizable: page size, margins, practice headers/footers, etc.
• Maintained&nbsp, by the Google Chrome group, ensuring changes coincide with Chromium.

❌ Disadvantages:

English focus: Largely supported in&nbsp, Node. java, so it’s less easy for developers in different languages.
• Resource use: Using a headless website can be more cumbersome than using less complicated tools.
• Scaling intricacy: Requires more facilities for big workloads.

Playwright

&nbsp, was &nbsp, developed by Microsoft&nbsp, and shares many similarities with Puppeteer. It supports automatic testing and computer adjustment for Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, although PDF era now works only in Chromium. Despite that restriction, ‘s design and multiple language Apps make it a powerful choice for different teams.

➡ ️ How it works:

Playwright launch a&nbsp, legless Chrome/Chromium&nbsp, occasion.
• It processes HTML strings and directs to a specific website.
• The application waits until the information, including any Script, is completely rendered, and then generates a Document that reflects the final design of the computer.

✅ Professionals:

Multiple language SDKs&nbsp, ( Python, Java, C#/. NET, JavaScript/TypeScript ) accommodate varied development teams.
• Modern requirements compatibility: Because it uses a real Chromium engine for PDF, flexbox, network, and other advanced CSS features are completely supported.
• Flexible design: Allows practice margins, paper dimensions, headers/footers, and dynamic site manipulation before exporting.
• Flexible &amp, constantly maintained: Backed by Microsoft and the open-source neighborhood, it evolves quickly and is well-documented. You can distribute weight for large-scale File tasks using containerized legless Chromium.

❌ Disadvantages:

PDF limited to Chromium: Yet though Playwright supports Firefox and WebKit for technology, PDF creation is restricted to Chromium.
• Great resource usage: Like Entertainer, running a legless browser is heavier than simpler command-line equipment.
• Overkill for little requirements: If you only require easy, static PDFs, spinning up Chromium might be more complicated than necessary.

Puppeteer vs Playwright

Both&nbsp, Puppeteer&nbsp, and&nbsp, Playwright&nbsp, are powerful instruments for&nbsp, PDF technology, leveraging the same&nbsp, Chromium website. Whether you need to automate many browsers beyond PDF generation depends largely on your particular needs, such as your chosen programming language, your project’s complexity, and your chosen browser.

To help you choose the best resource for your needs, here is a contrast.

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Step-by-Step Guide: Generating Invoice PDF with Playwright

In this fast instance, we’ll show how to make an&nbsp, receipt PDF&nbsp, by rendering an EJS pattern in Node. js and converting it to a Document using&nbsp, Playwright.

1️⃣ Set Up the Project

1. Install Node. js.

Make sure you have Node. js installed. If not, download and install it from&nbsp, Node. js Website.

2. Create a New Project Directory.

Run the following commands in a terminal:

mkdir invoice-generatorcd invoice-generator

3. Initialize a New Node. js Project.

Create a package.json file with the following command:

npm init -y

4. Install Required Packages.

Install ejs for templating and playwright for generating PDFs:

npm install ejs playwright

2️⃣ Organize Your Project Structure

Here’s a suggested structure for better organization:

invoice-generator/├── data/ // Directory for data files│ └── invoice-data.json // JSON file for invoice data├── templates/ // Directory for HTML templates│ └── invoice.ejs // Template for the invoice├── generate-invoice.js // Main script to generate PDFs└── package.json // Project configuration file

3️⃣ Create an EJS Template

To start generating PDFs, you’ll first need an HTML template for your invoice. In this example, we will use&nbsp, EJS, a simple templating language that allows you to generate HTML markup using plain JavaScript.
• Save this template as invoice.ejs in the templates directory. It should define the structure of your invoice and include placeholders for dynamic data.

4️⃣ Add Invoice Data

• Save your invoice details as invoice-data.json in the data directory.
• This file will hold the dynamic data, such as customer details, that will be used to populate the placeholders in the invoice.ejs template.
• By retaining the data in a separate file, you make sure that different data sets can be used with the template.

5️⃣ Create the PDF Generator Script

• You’ll need a script that renders the HTML template and uses Playwright for PDF conversion to generate a PDF from it.
• A complete example of the script can be found below.
• Save this file as generate-invoice.js in your project directory.

Below is the complete script:

const ejs = require('ejs');const fs = require('fs');const {chromium} = require('playwright');const path = require('path');// Load invoice data from the JSON fileconst invoiceData = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(path.join(__dirname, 'data', 'invoice-data.json'), 'utf8'));(async () => { try { const timestamp = new Date().toISOString().replace(/[:.]/g, '-'); // Generate unique timestamp // Render the EJS template to HTML const templatePath = path.join(__dirname, 'templates', 'invoice.ejs'); const html = await ejs.renderFile(templatePath, invoiceData); // Launch a headless browser using Playwright const browser = await chromium.launch(); const page = await browser.newPage(); // Load the rendered HTML into the browser await page.setContent(html, {waitUntil: 'load'}); // Generate the PDF and save it with a timestamped filename const pdfPath = `invoice-${timestamp}.pdf`; await page.pdf({ path: pdfPath, format: 'A4', printBackground: true // Additional parameters can be added here }); await browser.close(); console.log(`PDF successfully created at: ${pdfPath}`); } catch (error) { console.error('An error occurred while generating the invoice:', error); }})();

️6️⃣ Run the Script

1. Navigate to the project directory and open a terminal.

cd invoice-generator

2. Run the script:

node generate-invoice.js

7️⃣ Check the Output

Once the script has executed successfully, you’ll find the following file in your project directory:

• Generated PDF: invoice-.pdf – the final invoice ready for sharing or printing.
• Open the PDF to check that the invoice is displayed correctly.

It’s done! The invoice PDF has been created successfully. &nbsp, ��

A preview of the PDF invoice that was generated is below:

Conclusion

Playwright&nbsp, ( and headless browsers in general ) represent the modern standard for&nbsp, HTML to PDF conversion, providing excellent support for contemporary web layouts and interactive elements. Using headless Chromium ensures that your PDFs accurately reflect the most recent HTML/CSS/JS capabilities, even though some projects still rely on wkhtmltopdf or specialized engines like PrinceXML.

Don’t want to manage browser instances yourself? If you’re looking for a simpler route, you could opt for an&nbsp, API-based solution&nbsp, such as&nbsp, &nbsp, — an approach that offloads the maintenance and scaling concerns, letting you focus on your core application logic.

No matter which method you choose, we hope this brief history and tutorial will enable you to generate PDFs confidently in 2025 and beyond!

Good Luck and Happy PDFing! � �